Mahama: I Disagree With Judgment, And Process Of The Trial

Former President John Mahama has stated his disagreement with the outcome of the 2020 election petition.

At a press conference held at his Cantonments Office in Accra, he also disagreed with the whole process of the trial which strangely witnessed the Supreme Court panel Chaired by Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, unanimously dismissing every application by Mr. Mahama.

As if the justices reasoned from one head, they also unanimously, dismissed his application saying he did not prove that there were enough anomalies to order a re-run of the Fourth Republic’s most flawed elections.

“Much as I am aware that we are legally bound by the decision of the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court of Ghana, I disagree with the process of the trial and the ruling of the court,” Mr. Mahama stated.

John Dramani Mahama also reiterated his belief that partisanship in the Judiciary is not healthy for Ghana’s democracy.

“I believe that law should not be an instrument for partisan purposes. I also believe that the rule of law should mean one rule for all. What anchors the rule of law is equality and fairness to all irrespective of creed, background, or political coloration. Justice we must remember is rooted in moral foundations,” the ex-President stated disappointingly.

On Thursday, March 4, the seven-member Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Mr. Mahama’s election petition.

According to Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, who presided, “the petitioner has not produced any evidence to rebut the presumptions created by the publication of CI 135. We are therefore of no reason to order a rerun. We accordingly dismiss the petition.”

Yet, every application made by the petitioner to tease out the evidence from the Electoral Commission (EC) was frustrated both before the petition was officially filed and even during the hearing when the Supreme Court agreed with the EC that the petitioner cannot file 12 queries to the EC boss, Jean Mensa. 

The 12 interrogatories would have laid out the circumstances that caused the scandalous declaration of the presidential election results that were altered approximately six times within the course of one week after the conclusion of counting and collation of results from across the country.

Curiously, each of the six declarations by the EC did not add up, including the official declaration on December 9, 2020, which yielded a mathematical impossibility of 100.3% tally of valid votes for all the 12 presidential candidates.

The whole adjudication process had been punctuated with controversy because of the perception that the court was biased against the former President and that the court may have been influenced by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Ahead of the delivery of final judgment today, the Judicial Service had tried to bully the media demanding that they comb through their publications and delete all stories and articles that harshly criticize the Supreme Court panel hearing the case. The Media refused, with President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Roland Affail Monney, warning the media would not be cowed.

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